05/05/2013

Rita Gigante, the daughter of deceased Genovese boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, recently came out as a lesbian in her memoir The Godfather's Daughter, and the spiritualist who speaks to the dead now is announcing that her upcoming nuptials to Bobbi Sterchele has been blessed from the hereafter by the passed mobster as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:

The legendary mafioso, who breathed his last in 2006, will be there [at the wedding] in spirit, says his daughter, Rita Gigante. And the dearly departed wiseguy -- dubbed "The Oddfather" for parading around Greenwich Village in a ratty-looking bathrobe -- will be dressed to impress. "He's showing up in a suit and tie," Gigante told the Daily News.

Apparently the mobster's spirit isn't the only wise guy supportive of a gay child.

Last month Donna DeLucia wrote a letter to a Brooklyn federal judge requesting a lenient sentence for her reputed Colombo capo dad Dennis "Fat Dennie" DeLucia whom she says was supportive of her coming out process as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News: "My dad accepted me, embraced me and has supported me. His love and acceptance helped me through the rough times and growing pains."

The relationship between the Mafia and the gays has been a complicated one. The mob historically has dominated gay bars, and even a few mobsters had a little sugar in their tanks. Heck, Vito Genovese's second wife Anna was a lesbian who managed the mob boss's Club 82 in the East Village during the early 1950s which was popular with tourists for its drag performances.

Of course, being a gay mobster has its risks in the hypermasculine Mafia. Former DeCavalcante boss John D'Amato was whacked in 1992 for being gay, and his killer Anthony Capo said "nobody's going to respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business." Similarly, Lucchese associate Al Visconti was whacked in 1991, and although there apparently were multiple reasons for the hit boss Vittore "Jesse" Amuso thought Visconti was "a disgrace to the Luchese family because he had a reputation of engaging in homosexual acts in prison" according to courtroom testimony from former capo Alphonse D'Arco.

However, even the mob may be evolving much like President Obama on gay issues. Last year John Gotti's widow Victoria defended John Travolota to play the late Gambino boss in a planned biopic notwithstanding accusations that the actor made untoward advances against male masseurs as reported by the Daily News:

"What difference does it make if he were gay?" Victoria Gotti told the Daily News in an expletive-filled defense of the actor, who's been embroiled by a sex scandal for more than a week. "Who the f--k really cares? Does it make him less of a beautiful human being? No. . . . Leave him the f--k alone. Whatever the true story is, leave him with his dignity," she added. "In the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter."

Perhaps Victoria said it best.

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